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Common Counselling Concerns Before the First Session

It is often said that the most important and difficult step in dealing with a problem is acknowledging it in the first place. That is entirely true, but it doesn’t mean that after having decided you will be able to benefit from professional therapy, you will suddenly feel much better about the whole situation. Quite the opposite in fact, as given the fact that you might have never been through such a process in the past, fear of the unknown can undoubtedly leave you feeling a little daunted.

Whether it’s addiction counselling Harley Street London, relationship advice or anxiety coaching you are considering, you will always be able to find a large array or misleading opinions and conflicting information. Each time you hear something that makes you feel better about counselling, you will then immediately hear something else that can put you on edge. Therefore, it’s not surprising that so many UK adults who can genuinely benefit from therapy brush the idea to one side, having been misinformed regarding what to expect. Which obviously is quite unfortunate.

So for the benefit of anybody who is actively thinking about therapy though have a few concerns about what they can expect, here is a short overview of some of the most common concerns and the respective truths behind them:

I don’t want to worry my family

First up, while it is completely understandable to want to protect family members from anything that could be troubling, doing so in this case could be counterproductive. The reason is that when you actually think about it, how would you feel if a close family member was bottling up an issue that negatively affecting their life? Could you be happy knowing they felt they couldn’t come to you with their issues and turn to you for help and support? While it is fair to say that bringing any matter out in the open might worry family members and friends, you might also find that doing so makes the issue much easier to deal with. Additionally, you will also eliminate the prospect of them discovering your problem far down the line and feeling hurt having not been trusted with this information sooner.

I worry people will think I am weak

There is very often nothing more difficult in life than realising you need assistance with a personal issue. Pretending everything is OK when in reality it is not is far more of a sign of weakness than accepting the issue and trying to resolve it. Therefore, you would perhaps be surprised just how much admiration and respect you will earn by regaining control of the situation and seeking to resolve it. The only individuals who might think you’re weak are the kinds of misguided and small-minded people you don’t need in your life anyway.

What if the therapist tells me I am crazy?

Put simply, this is simply not going to happen. The reason is that word “crazy” had absolutely no meaning in this particular context. When you approach a counsellor for help, you do so as a way to deal with a specific problem. Every problem has its cause and its solution, which will be determined and discussed during the therapy sessions. No professional counsellor will ever tell a client they are crazy.

I don’t want to take medication

Contrary to common assumption, it’s in fact relatively rare for anybody undergoing professional therapy to be prescribed medication. More often than not, drugs of any kind are seen as something of a last resort and are under no circumstances mandatory at any time. There are practically endless roads to explore when it comes to potential solutions that don’t have to involve medication at all. If you are against the use of drugs, you don’t have to take any.

What if my issues aren’t taken seriously?

It is basic human nature to assume that your own issues are to some extent insignificant and can’t be compared to other individuals with really serious problems. When it comes to therapy however, comparing personal issues is a very counterproductive approach as no two individuals are ever alike. If it’s something that is negatively affecting your life, it’s a valid problem that any professional therapist will take just as seriously as the most advanced issues presented by other people. There isn’t such a thing as “qualifying” therapy – if you need assistance, it’s there for you.

I worry the sessions will be intimidating

Last up, counsellors and therapists the world over are completely aware of the fact that most individuals who approach therapy for the fist time already feel intimidated and daunted. Therefore, every effort is made to make sure the therapy sessions are simply the opposite of troubling or intimidating. Therefore, it’s 100% guaranteed that even after one session your ideas and thoughts on precisely how therapy works will be probably radically changed.